FIU clinical hours, program by program
Florida International University (FIU) prints 770 clinical hours on its MSN nurse practitioner pages, while its 2025-2026 graduate handbook sets a 630-hour minimum for four of the five NP tracks. This page lines up every program's figure, flags each spot where FIU contradicts itself, and names the people who can confirm the number that applies to you.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your FIU program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your FIU course.
Pick your FIU program
Your practicum courses and hours, who can precept you, where, and when to start looking. From FIU's own handbook, plans of study and catalog.
- Who precepts
- A nurse practitioner or physician in adult and older-adult primary care, with national certification and at least a year in the specialty; never family or a close friend
- Where
- Primary care in your own area, inside or beyond Monroe, Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, at a site FIU can contract with
- Start looking
- The first practicum comes in semester 4 (the second Fall) of the posted plan; rotations are set up the semester before
- Who precepts
- A pediatric nurse practitioner or pediatrician in primary care, nationally certified, with at least a year in the specialty
- Where
- Pediatric primary care practices and clinics near you, inside or beyond FIU's four South Florida counties
- Start looking
- The first practicum comes in semester 4 (the second Fall) of the posted plan; primary care rotations run weekdays, 9 to 5
- Who precepts
- NP preceptors for the three specialty practicums (PNP students take NGR 6301L to 6303L) and an organizational mentor, ideally doctorally prepared, who is not your work supervisor
- Where
- Primary care sites for the practicums; a health system, agency or practice that fits your DNP project for the residency hours
- Start looking
- The health policy practicum comes in semester 2 and the first NP practicum in semester 4 of the Fall-start plan
- Who precepts
- An organizational mentor you identify, ideally doctorally prepared and expert in your field, approved by the DNP Program Director and the Clinical Education Department
- Where
- Your place of practice (beyond your regular duties and hours) or another organization in your community
- Start looking
- The health policy practicum comes in semester 2 and the three DNP project courses in semesters 4 to 6 of the Fall cohort plan
- Who precepts
- A BSN-prepared nurse at a site with a current FIU contract, approved by faculty; not on your own unit, and not an NP or CNS working only as a primary care provider
- Where
- Ideally within your own facility, in a different department from your job
- Start looking
- In the final semester; FIU's information package set clinical placement deadlines of April 1, August 1 and December 1
Every FIU program's hours in one table
The planner above maps the practicum route for five common programs. The table covers every FIU nursing program, with the figure FIU prints and, wherever a second FIU document disagrees, the competing figure in the same row. In none of these cases has FIU said which document governs.
| Program | FIU's figure | Where FIU disagrees | Practicum courses |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN Adult-Gerontology Primary Care NP (online) | 770 (Clinical Education page and plan of study) | 630 minimum in the graduate handbook | NGR 6201L, NGR 6202L, NGR 6203L |
| MSN Pediatric Primary Care NP (online) | 770 | 630 minimum in the handbook | NGR 6301L, NGR 6302L, NGR 6303L |
| MSN Family NP (hybrid) | 770 | None: the handbook also says 770 | NGR 6601L, NGR 6602L, NGR 6604L |
| MSN Psychiatric-Mental Health NP (hybrid) | 770 (web page and 2026-2027 catalog) | 630 minimum in the handbook | NGR 6503L, NGR 6504L, NGR 6550L |
| MSN Adult-Gerontology Acute Care NP | 770 (web page) | 630 minimum in the handbook | NGR 6210L, NGR 6211L (NGR 6213L in the handbook and certificate plan) |
| Post-graduate AGPCNP or PNP certificate (online) | No primary care total stated | None | The same practicums as the MSN |
| Post-graduate acute care certificates | 280 in each of three practicums | None | NGR 6210L, NGR 6211L, NGR 6213L (adult track) |
| Dual MSN NP and Nurse Educator Certificate | The NP track's hours plus 210 teaching hours | Inherits the NP track's conflict | NP practicums plus an education practicum |
| MSN Nurse Educator | 280 practicum hours (handbook) | None | NGR 6714C, NGR 6708C, NGR 6710L |
| Post-BSN to DNP | 1,310 (DNP Clinical Education page and Spring-start plan) | 1,170 on the Fall-start plan for AG, Child and Psych; Family stays at 1,310 | The MSN practicums, then NGR 7892L and NGR 7940C to NGR 7942C |
| Post-MSN DNP (online) | 540 (40, 170, 165 and 165) | None | NGR 7892L, NGR 7940C, NGR 7941C, NGR 7942C |
| DNP Nurse Anesthesia | 3,280 | The same page's semester totals add up to 2,655 | NGR 6431L to NGR 6437L |
| RN to BSN (online) | 150: 30 plus 120 (2021 information package) | None | NUR 4636C, NUR 4945L |
| Traditional BSN | A formula: clinical credits x 2 x 15 weeks, practicum credits x 3 x 15 weeks | The BSN handbook uses a 1:3 ratio for clinical courses | NUR 3029L through NUR 4945L, plus NUR 4636C |
| Accelerated Option BSN | Not stated | None | Assigned clinical groups |
The RN to BSN/MSN NP pathway follows the hours of whichever NP track you enter. The programs overview links to a full guide for each program.
Where FIU's published hours disagree
Four conflicts sit inside FIU's own hour figures. The one most online-track students run into is the MSN total. FIU's Clinical Education page and its plan of study both print 770, yet the 2025-2026 graduate handbook, in its April 30, 2026 revision, puts the floor at 630 for the adult-gerontology tracks (primary and acute care), pediatrics and PMHNP, and holds Family NP alone at 770. The 770 vs 630 page walks through every source and the questions to put to your faculty.
The second conflict follows from the first. On the doctoral side, 1,310 hours appears for all four post-BSN tracks on the DNP Clinical Education page and on the plan for Spring starters, while the plan for Fall starters shows 1,170 for AG, Child and Psych. The 140 hours between those DNP totals is exactly the distance between 770 and 630.
Two smaller ones: the DNP Nurse Anesthesia page states 3,280 hours while its semester totals sum to 2,655, and the Traditional BSN page counts clinical credits at 1:2 where the BSN handbook uses 1:3.
Two FIU documents printing different totals is not a reason to aim for the lower one. Get your target from your syllabus and your course faculty, in writing, before you settle a schedule with a preceptor.
Per-course hours: published for some courses, not others
FIU gives per-course hours for its DNP work and for the nurse anesthesia residencies, never for the primary care practicums. In the post-MSN DNP, NGR 7892L Health Policy Practicum carries 40 hours, NGR 7940C DNP Project I carries 170, and NGR 7941C and NGR 7942C carry 165 apiece; the DNP residency page covers those courses. The anesthesia residencies climb from 125 hours in Residency I to 375 in each of Residencies III through VII.
For NGR 6201L to NGR 6203L and NGR 6301L to NGR 6303L, the 5-2026 plans list credits (4, 4 and 3) and stop there. The handbook does state a credit formula for clinical courses, one credit to five contact hours, but FIU never converts it into a published figure for these courses, so resist building your own target from it. Each course guide, beginning with the first adult-gerontology practicum, sets out what to confirm.
The FNP and PMHNP practicums are in the same position: the syllabus, posted on FIU SharePoint for MSN and DNP courses, and your clinical faculty set what each semester must produce.
What counts toward your total
FIU's rules decide which hours on site reach your total.
- Counted: encounters logged in Typhon NPST within 7 days and approved by your preceptor and faculty. Late entries are refused and those hours must be repeated; the Typhon guide has the detail.
- Counted: days your preceptor initials on the Clinical Rotation Time-Sheet Log, each day or each week, and never in advance.
- Not counted: watching hospital rounds. The handbook limits it to preceptors who are not employees, wants it rare, and keeps it out of practicum hours.
- Not counted, and a conduct violation: clinical days before FIU has approved the site and preceptor and the contract is signed.
- Made up: every missed clinical hour, and any scheduled clinical day lost to an official holiday, which you reschedule with your preceptor.
- Needs approval first: a clinical day during a campus break, which your faculty must clear by email beforehand.
- DNP only: residency time at your own employer counts solely as work outside your normal role and off the clock from your shifts.
Hour counts that are not FIU practicum hours
Two other numbers get mixed up with FIU's practicum totals. The first is the DNP residency floor. The handbook sets the residency at no fewer than 540 hours of supervised work, and it warns that if your post-baccalaureate practice totals under 1,000 hours when you finish, extra residency time may be required. At admission, DNP applicants document that history on FIU's Verification of Post-Baccalaureate Clinical Practice Hours.
The second is Florida's autonomous practice registration. An APRN can register for autonomous primary care practice after at least 3,000 clinical hours under physician supervision within the past five years, along with graduate coursework in differential diagnosis and pharmacology. Those hours are earned as a licensed APRN after graduation, not in an FIU practicum. The Florida APRN practice page explains the protocol and autonomy rules.
Getting your hours onto a real calendar
Protecting your total starts with a preceptor whose calendar can really hold it. Tell us your FIU program, course and the target your faculty confirmed, and we look for adult, older-adult or pediatric primary care preceptors in your own area whose weekday clinic schedule can carry it, checking how many days a week each can take a student before you commit.
We begin a semester ahead, as FIU does, and tell you early whether FIU already has an agreement with the practice, since a new one can take 6 to 8 weeks. Your Preceptor Request Form details arrive complete, ready for approval on the first pass, and if a preceptor drops mid-semester, we find a replacement. How it works shows each step, and the request form sits at the bottom of this page.
Questions FIU students ask
How many clinical hours do FIU's online AGPCNP and PNP tracks require?
FIU's MSN Clinical Education page and plan of study say 770. The handbook's April 2026 revision instead names 630 as the minimum for both tracks. FIU has not reconciled the two, so ask your course faculty which figure your cohort must meet and keep their answer in your FIU email.
Can hours at my job count toward FIU clinical hours?
Only in narrow cases. MSN students may not train on their own work unit, though another department inside a big institution is acceptable. DNP residency hours may be at your job only beyond your regular duties and hours, with a mentor who is not your supervisor. RN to BSN students cannot count any paid time.
Are the post-graduate certificate hours the same as the MSN hours?
The primary care certificates share the MSN's practicum courses, yet FIU's certificate pages give no primary care hour total. The acute care certificate plan does: 280 hours in each of its three practicums. Certificate students should get their total from the syllabus and course faculty before planning a preceptor's days.
What happens if I miss clinical days at FIU?
Missed clinical hours must be made up. The handbook counts a late arrival of over five minutes as tardy, which can end your day early, and asks for documentation after more than 3 days of absence. Falling short of attendance requirements puts the course at risk, so tell your preceptor and clinical faculty early.
Is the post-BSN DNP total separate from the MSN hours?
No. The post-BSN DNP totals combine the NP practicums with the DNP work: 40 hours in NGR 7892L and 500 across the three DNP project courses. Adding those 540 hours to 770 gives the 1,310 on the DNP Clinical Education page, and adding them to 630 gives the Fall-start plan's 1,170.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-26
We check these pages against FIU's own graduate handbook, preceptor manual, plans of study, catalog and licensure pages. Your plan of study, your course faculty, your clinical faculty and FIU's Office of Clinical Education have the final word.
FIU asks you to identify your clinical site. We make that the easy part.
Tell us your FIU track, where you live and which semester your next practicum starts. We find preceptors whose patients fit the course, check early whether the site already holds an FIU contract, and prepare everything the Preceptor Request Form asks for.
- Preceptors matched to the course: adult and older-adult primary care for
NGR 6201L, pediatric primary care forNGR 6301L, an organizational mentor forNGR 7940C - Preceptor, facility, license and schedule details ready for the Preceptor Request Form, weeks ahead of the contract clock
- Across Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe, or beyond them where FIU approves your site
Start your placement plan
Track, city and semester is all we need to begin.